The concern for achieving a more rational use of water is a matter of increasing relevance worldwide. A toilet or lavatory that works by gravity (that is, not assisted by pressure) is a device with which more water is consumed in homes, representing up to 40% of the domestic consumption of this resource. In order to promote a reduction in water consumption, international regulations have established limits to the allowable volume of water to be used for each discharge to empty a toilet. Thus, in 1994, NOM-CNA-009 was issued, which establishes that toilets manufactured and/or marketed in our country must discharge a volume less than or equal to 6 L; this rule is aligned with current international standards.
But awareness regarding the care of the environment and natural resources continues to evolve, and the international standards on the matter tend to become increasingly stricter in order to respond to the need for optimizing the rational use and consumption of water. Bathroom fixture manufacturers have focused on developing or improving two technologies in order to perfect toilet operation.
The first technology is related to the hydraulic performance of the toilet bowl in order to maximize the siphoning effect caused by the vacuum generated in the toilet trap as the water level in the bowl increases when it receives water from the tank when the toilet is flushed.
Examples of efforts in this technology are described in Hennessy's U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,497 entitled “Vacuum-assisted toilet trap,” which discloses a vacuum-assisted toilet in which vacuum is applied between a low trap and a high trap at the outlet of a toilet bowl, where the low trap is built to more reliably ensure that an air conduit over a water repository of the lower trap will close at the beginning of the discharge and will remain open between discharges.
Bayot's U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,148 entitled “Toilet with vortex discharge” describes a toilet bowl and rim capable of generating superior vortex action. A restrictor is strategically placed on one side of the rim to branch the direction of the streams of water and make them converge at one side of the rim. The relocation of the point of contact, conventionally placed in the middle, and its placement at a strategically located side of the rim increases the speed and force of the stream of water. Controlling the volume, flow and directional orientation of the water flow within and through the rim's cavity and through the rim's discharge orifices produces superior vortex action.
Arita et al.'s U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,863 entitled “Low discharge toilet” describes a toilet bowl that includes an opening to supply water for washing the toilet bowl in one part of the toilet bowl wall; a water discharge channel in the form of a substantially inverted “U”-type trap formed next to the base of the toilet bowl and having a discharge opening in the lower part; a portion that distributes the wash water placed substantially below the tank's discharge opening and used to receive and distribute the tank's clean water; a ring for directing the trajectory of the water formed in the periphery of the highest part of the toilet bowl, a part of said ring having a plurality of water injection perforations for washing in communication with the water trajectory of said ring; a first water channel that communicates the part that distributes the wash water and the opening that distributes the wash water; and a second water channel that communicates the part that distributes the wash water and the water trajectory of said ring.
Han et al.'s U.S. Pat. No. 6,715,162 B2 entitled “Toilet assembly” discloses a toilet that includes a toilet bowl assembly that consists of a toilet bowl and a trap that extends from the bottom of the toilet bowl to the drain outlet. The toilet bowl has an annular channel, provided along the perimeter of the upper part of said toilet bowl. In this toilet, the stream of water flows through the annular channel in a trajectory that is asymmetrical and unidirectional throughout its entire perimeter. The annular channel includes a plurality of openings set uniformly throughout the perimeter of said annular channel. When the water passes through the plurality of openings, it wets the entire perimeter of the toilet bowl. The annular channel also includes a pair of water discharge grooves that lead the water directly to the toilet bowl in two powerful streams. The discharge valve that allows the water to pass from the tank to the toilet bowl has a radial port inlet that increases the water flow's outlet energy.
A disadvantage of the toilets described in the above-mentioned patents resides in the fact that they were developed to comply with the criteria expressed in current international regulations and ensure good operation in toilets with a 6-L discharge. However, this technology has the drawback of not being useful or efficient when one wishes to reduce the toilet discharge volume from 6 L to, for example, 4 L, without having to drastically and integrally modify its hydraulic design or its principles since, in order to achieve a reduction in water consumption of this magnitude, it is necessary to redesign all of the components of the toilet, as well as the way they interrelate to each other.
The second technology focuses on the development of modified toilets in which the water previously used in a washbasin, shower, washer, etc., is stored in the tank in order to reuse it for cleaning the toilet bowl and the wastes it contains.
Examples of the advances in this technology are described, for example, in Carfora's U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,448 entitled “Combined toilet and washbasin,” which discloses a washbasin to be mounted on the discharge tank of a toilet used in a bathroom or other room with very limited space. The washbasin replaces the lid of the toilet tank and is completely separate from a water valve connected to the cold and hot water lines and mounted on the wall, in order to allow the washbasin to be lifted when the toilet tank requires repairs.
Medrano's U.S. Pat. No. 4,358,864 entitled “Conservation system combining washbasin and toilet” describes a water conservation system that combines a washbasin and a toilet, which has at least one washbasin and one toilet that in turn includes a water tank. The water tank has a clean water chamber and a greywater chamber. A first outlet connects the greywater chamber to the toilet bowl and a flap valve (“frog”) closes this outlet. A second outlet connects the clean water chamber to the greywater chamber, and a flotation valve closes this outlet. A pipe is used to connect the washbasin's drain to the tank's greywater chamber. Another pipe connects a source of clean water to the clean water chamber. A hand lever on the outside of the tank operates a lever arm inside of the tank such that when it is lifted, it activates a mechanism that opens the flotation valve allowing the clean water to enter the greywater chamber. The structure also acts on the greywater chamber when the lever arm lifts and this structure opens the flap valve to launch the water from the greywater chamber to clean the toilet bowl.
Gilliam's U.S. Pat. No. 5,452,956 entitled “Greywater recirculation system with odor prevention” describes a mechanism in which a small amount of greywater is collected in a storage tank to be used in cleaning toilets. During its use, the greywater is agitated to discharge small solid particles with the water supplied to the toilet. Agitating the water in the storage tank also prevents the water from stratifying and prevents the disinfectant from stratifying in the greywater, which can stagnate in the absence of disinfectant and agitation. The action of agitating the greywater also makes the system clean itself.
Pacchiano's Mexican Patent No. 181,614 entitled “Water-saving system” describes a water-saving system that consists of a toilet whose water storage tank is equipped with a device for supplying water, part of which projects outside of the tank, and a tank lid with a special design whose configuration offers a washbasin area in communication with the fluids inside the tank.
This type of toilet (which combines and/or associates a toilet with other devices, such as, for example, a washbasin) provides for decreased water consumption, since at least part of the water used in the washbasin or other sources would be reused. However, this type of toilet has two serious problems. The first problem consist of the fact that the water used in a washbasin or other sources contains semi-solid and/or solid wastes (such as food residues, small pieces of soap, soapy water, toothpaste residues, shaving residues, hairs, etc.) that are stored in the toilet tank together with the water which will then be reused upon flushing the toilet to clean the toilet bowl and flush the wastes therein, causing sedimentations and/or encrustations inside of the tank. This problem originates because tanks are usually cube-shaped, with a flat bottom, leaving a reservoir caused by the difference in levels between the bottom of the tank and the lip of the discharge valve. In addition, the same vitreous coating used for the external finish of the bathroom appliances is not applied to the internal surface of conventional toilet tanks, which has the drawback of the inside of the tank not being sanitary and, due to the porosity of its internal surface, it also provides much greater adherence for the impurities contained in the water.
When it is only a matter of rust in the tubes or the small impurities that water frequently entrains through the tube to the tank, sedimentation may not be serious. However, when the water with which the tank is replenished has previously been used in the washbasin (as occurs in some of the water-saving systems described), said water contains both inorganic and organic semi-solid and/or solid wastes, and the formation of sediments can cause a problem that can be as severe and risky as bad odors and foci of contamination or infection resulting from the decomposition of the organic material.
Another drawback of this type of water-saving system that combines a toilet with a washbasin resides basically in the fact that in order to have a flow of water in the washbasin and for said flow to be stored in turn in the toilet tank for reuse, it is necessary to activate the toilet lever even when it does not need to be cleaned. In other words, if a user wishes to use the washbasin to wash his hands or mouth, the user must necessarily first activate the toilet's discharge lever to initiate the flow of water in the washbasin, which represents an unnecessary waste of water.
The other problem presented by this type of modified toilet is that the semi-solid and/or solid wastes entrained from the tank obstruct the orifices in the rim of closed-rim toilet bowl, through which the water flows to wash the walls of the toilet bowl's bowl, since these orifices are relatively narrow (between 0.16 cm and 0.0793 cm in diameter ( 1/16 and 1/32 inch)), causing the toilet to be incapable of managing and/or disposing of the liquid, solid and/or semi-solid wastes that are stored in the tank, which come from a washbasin with which said tank is interconnected.
Taking into account the disadvantages of the prior art, one objective of the present invention is to provide a water-saving system consisting of at least one toilet and one washbasin or other source which will efficiently manage and dispose of the liquid, semi-solid and/or solid wastes that are stored in the tank of said toilet, together with the water previously used in said washbasin or other source.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an ecological anti-sedimentation tank for toilets that will allow storing the water previously used in washbasins or other sources and will prevent the semi-solid and/or solid wastes that reach said tank from depositing in the bottom of said tank, whether these residues are inorganic or organic.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a water-saving system consisting of at least one toilet and one washbasin that will efficiently manage and dispose of the liquid, semi-solid and/or solid wastes that are stored in the tank of said toilet and that will be capable of achieving the complete cleaning of the wastes contained in the bowl of said toilet, with a discharge of only 4 L of water.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a water-saving system consisting of at least one toilet and one washbasin that also includes a modified washbasin mixer so the washbasin can be used without having to discharge the toilet tank.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an ecological anti-sedimentation tank for toilets that will allow storing water previously used in washbasins or from other sources and that will prevent the semi-solid and/or solid wastes that reach said tank from being encrusted on the bottom and/or the walls of said tank, whether these residues are inorganic or organic.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide an ecological anti-sedimentation tank for toilets that will allow an adequate and efficient management and disposal of the semi-solid and/or solid wastes that are entrained by the water previously used in the washbasin or from other sources.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a water-saving system consisting of at least one toilet and one washbasin that will efficiently manage and dispose of the liquid, semi-solid and/or solid wastes that are stored in the tank of said toilet, consisting of a toilet bowl capable of evacuating the liquid, solid and semi-solid wastes it receives from the tank to which it is joined without the wastes causing obstructions in the rim.